Selfish Desire [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 03: The Mission

Ayuda's P.O.V

It was true that the atmosphere at the Sand Village was a lot warmer than the Leaf Village, but the heat was still tolerable for ordinary people. Despite the balmy temperature, the breeze that repeatedly brushed past me was comfortably cold.

I was standing on top of the Kazekage's Office building. Team 5 and I, Team Guy, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura had just returned from rescuing Gaara who was abducted by the Akatsuki, the infamous organization Itachi Uchiha was in. We were too late to thwart their nefarious activities, eventuating in Gaara's death and the loss of the One-Tailed Shukaku. However, a selfless senior called Chiyo sacrificed her life for the Kazekage and thus Gaara was revived while the elder passed away in an honorable manner. Right now, we were allowed to take as much rest as we wanted with the Kazekage's permission.

I set down my arms on the railing and took in the artistic scenery of the Sand Village. The only sound that accompanied me at that moment was the faint sound of the bustling street and the howling of the wind. That was until I heard a voice behind me, "Do you like the view?"

I looked to see Gaara approaching me with a serenity mien. The sight of him alone made me throw my arms back to my sides, behaving as polite as I could to the current Kazekage. I bowed my head slightly, "Kazekage-sama."

The redhead stood next to me and said, "You can call me Gaara."

He spun his head to gaze at the panorama of his own village, "This view... I used to loathe it. I possessed a great hatred for this village and had always imagined what it's like to destroy this place and everyone in it. You don't know how many times I had imagined that. But I never thought I would end up protecting this village with every ounce of my chakra... just like that time."

He is referring to that time when he battled the Akatsuki member who tried to detonate this entire village. I heard everything from Kankuro who had witnessed everything. When the Akatsuki member, Deidara, dropped a bomb towards the village, Gaara summoned a lot of sand and protected the village from the blast and ended up overtiring himself by using all of his remaining strength in an attempt to move the sand outside the village in order to not get the village damaged.

Gaara is one of the strongest shinobi I've ever met, but his desire to defend the Sand Village proved to be his downfall.

A smile played across my lips as I said, "That is a heroic act there, Gaara. That means you are a hero to your village. Do not think otherwise and if you do, I will drag Naruto here and make him change your mind just like how he's changed you."

The redhead's eyes lingered on me before they softened considerably and his lips parted to respond, "I've realized ever since that day when I first met you that you are not afraid of me, regardless of my reputation at that time. You did not cower when we were seated next to each other throughout the written test. Instead, you watched me with plain curiosity in your eyes. Of course, I, at that moment, thought you were an easy prey to satiate my bloodlust. If I managed to kill you that night, I would not discover how soothing your presence is."

I ignored the blushes on my cheeks as I mused, 'Well, I was not afraid of you because I had a crush on you that time.'

"It's all thanks to that person."

I darted my gaze back to Gaara's face that now dropped into an emotionless countenance. It took me a while to comprehend his last words and when I did, my mood turned down a little bit. He must be referring to him, the one who prevented Gaara from killing me that night. Well, it is true that he was the one who saved me from my death, but... I wonder what he is doing right now. What if he's not alive? It's been two years and anything can happen to him.